By Menlopark technologies
The most modern models come up with features that symbolize unparalleled innovation vehicles that can communicate (V2V) with each other, the road-side infrastructure(V2X), the Internet, plus highly advanced in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems.
Vehicles are being fitted out with sensor-based safety and security systems that can significantly improve traffic safety and security by practically reducing accidents. We are nearing a point where fully automated vehicles that can handle all driving tasks will soon be commercially available. In addition to the increasing component of software, these newer features and applications are dependent on the bandwidth needed by the silicon powered devices which requires costly and complex cabling. The two prime factors getting adversely effected by this needs are the price and weight of the vehicles.
A network based on the BroadR-Reach specification for in-vehicle networking will significantly reduce both the cost and weight of the required cabling. The BroadR-Reach 100/1000 Mbit/s Automotive Ethernet specification seeks to optimize in-vehicle cabling, based on 100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet running over a single unshielded twisted-pair copper wire.
Testing BroadR-Reach Ethernet equipment is essential for verifying its quality, functionality, and performance. Our Partner Xena’s Odin-1G-3S-6P 6-port 1Gbps test module provides powerful testing capabilities for testing and verifying BroadR-Reach automotive Ethernet solutions.
1Gbps 6-port Automotive Ethernet test module
The Odin-1G-3S-6P-T1 is a 6 port 1 Gbps/100/10Mbps Ethernet test module designed for Automotive Ethernet test applications.
The module has native 1000BASE-T1, 100BASE-T1, and 10BASE-T1S interfaces. Based on Xena’s advanced architecture, the Odin-1G-3S-6P-T1 is the obvious choice for testing Automotive Ethernet up to 1G at Layers 2-3. The Odin-1G-3S-6P-T1 is available for both the 4U 12-slot ValkyrieBay chassis and the robust transportable 1U ValkyrieCompact chassis and is provided with a full range of test software, as part of Xena Value Pack. This includes predefined test suites for RFC 2544, plus comprehensive test automation options.
Top Features
- Designed for testing Automotive Ethernet
- Native 1000BASE-T1, 100BASE-T1, and 10BASE-T1S interfaces
- Choice of chassis
- Predefined test suites for RFC 2544
Test Automation
Valkyrie Command Line Interface The Xena Networks Valkyrie test solutions have a scripting Command Line Interface (CLI). With this the user can create a script, which defines a test sequence that can be repeated as often as required, providing reproduce able results and reducing labor cost. The CLI scripting API makes test automation easier for test engineers:
- Ideal for test automation of e.g. production environments
- Controls ValkyrieBay and ValkyrieCompact chassis with installed test modules
- Powerful CLI approach from any TCP/IP capable tool environment
- The unified syntax for CLI- and GUI-generated test port configurations makes it easy to learn
- Script examples of Tcl, Perl, Java, Ruby, Bash, and Python are available
- Intelligent console tool ValkyrieCLI bundled free with valkyrieManager-2G
The ValkyrieBay and ValkyrieCompact chassis are typically controlled using ValkyrieManager, the free GUI application provided by Xena Networks. Everything you can do with ValkyrieManager can also be done via simple CLI text commands.
Valkyrie REST API In addition to the CLI the Xena Networks Valkyrie test solutions also provide a REST API that can be used instead of the CLI. The Valkyrie REST API:
- Is a client-less, language-agnostic, out-of-the-box, chassis embedded REST server.
- Let you build automation scripts with your choice of language, tool and client environment.
- Supports all Valkyrie CLI commands and adds many more abstract operations (like returning statistics as ready-to-consume JSON) that simplify and speed up automation development. A full Python object-oriented REST client is also available, enabling Python developers to simply pip install it and start building automation scripts without spending time on developing the traffic generator layer.
CONCLUSION
The Automotive Ethernet standard seeks to minimize the weight and cost of electrical cabling – now the 3rd largest weight component. Xena test solutions are ideal for verifying the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Quality assurance (QA) companies can prevent errors and mistakes in their products and ensure flawless product deliveries to their customers, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing the need for after-sales troubleshooting and support.
During product development, the development team will do thorough testing of the product, covering e.g. functional and stress testing of the basic functionality of the product. QA testing of physical products normally includes stress testing of a number of environmental conditions, e.g. EMC tests, mechanical drop and shock tests, heat, and humidity tests.
Test automation will often be relevant for QA testing to ensure uniformity and reproduce able test results and at the same time reduce labor cost for the test. Xena Networks test solutions are ideal for QA testing. Testing of Ethernet products up to layer 3 is supported by the ValkyrieBay and ValkyrieCompact test chassis equipped with relevant test modules, which can support data rates up to 400 Gbps. Using the scripting Command Line Interface (CLI), the REST API or the Valkyrie Manager Scheduler provided with the Xena Valkyrie test solutions the user can create test scripts and test automation for the QA tests.
